FMF - Friends of Minerals Forum, discussion and message board

[stoned]

When asked if the quartz crystal specimen I want to purchase on Etsy is real, the owner of the store left this answer:


The crystal is natural rock quartz, which is permanently treated by fusing titanium crystals with heat and vacuum to quartz to create a wonderful stone with a beautiful array of colors

Huh? Is that a fancy way of saying its "man made" or is this legit?

[Pete Richards]

[stoned]

Thanks Pete, that's kind of what I suspected, but wanted to confirm from someone knowledgeable. I'll pass on that "crystal" now.

[John Betts]

[Jordi Fabre]

stoned,

The aim of this forum is non-commercial, so we prefer to deal with topics other than the different creative descriptions that abound in the vast majority of the generalist web sales pages, and in which sellers are not usually professionals, so their descriptions are more directed towards selling their product than offering a realistic description.

It is an oxymoron to get a good natural mineral for very little money.

[lluis]

"It is an oxymoron to get a good natural mineral for very little money."

It depends on what is placed as "very little money"...
As far as I remember, having read in MinRec, Mr. Conklin used to say that if a mineral is sold, it has been priced too low....
So....

With best wishes

Lluís

P.D.: and, by the way, I got a poldervaartite, a real one, for a ridiculous amount of money, far nicer than my previous ones, bought many years ago. That besides, were asked what they merit, in my humble opinion...